The Bedford High School Unified Basketball Team
Unified Basketball is one of BHS’ many, many sports teams. From December to late February, this winter team practices and competes in games! The 21-player team starts their practices in December, with about one every week. In January, they play games, their first home was on January 26 against Keene High School. The season normally wraps up in late February, followed by an end-of-season banquet in March.
During the BHS spirit week last September, the Unified Basketball team played a game against the teachers, with a huge student turnout! Lucas Nguyen on the unified team made the winning shot, giving the win to the Unified team! The entire team was thrilled to participate, loving the huge student turnout and cheers every time a basket was made.
During their first home game, something really unique happened mid-game. One of the student helpers on the other team, created a friendship on the court with our very own Lucas Nguyen, winning over the crowd’s hearts. Garret Anderson, a senior at BHS, has been playing on the BHS Unified Basketball team since his freshman year. His jersey number is 25 and he is a captain of Unified along with BHS Senior Regan O’Brien. His favorite part of being on the team is "making connections, new friends, getting together with old friends, and being active. I’m so blessed to have such a great team, I’m so lucky.” Garret is a team player, with all the baskets he makes, each one being “a lot of joy.” Garret’s senior project is based on gaining awareness for Unified Basketball, hoping to get more support and spectators to attend their games. Against Keene, Garret scored 26 points! He thinks that it was “a huge success!”
His father, Ted Anderson, shares, “To watch Garret play Unified with his teammates, it’s literally the most satisfying of anything I’ve ever done in terms of watching or playing basketball. The joy that these kids have and the support that the helpers provide them is heartwarming. It doesn't matter what the score is, they love it. For me as a parent, for my wife Lisa and I, it's really something, I guess we never really knew a lot of thought early on with Garret, and it’s just been one of his favorite things, so it’s very special for him. We never miss a game. They only have 6 or 7 games so they’re really precious, so we make every game. What I was most proud about with Garret was, there was a risk of a season being in jeopardy this year in terms of not having a team and he wanted to do something about it, so he went to Mr. Parker, the athletic director of BHS and they got a teacher-student game to rally student volunteers and before we knew it, it all kind of came together. The most important thing about Unified is student support, so it would be great to see more of that in the future.”
Regan O’Brien, BHS senior and Unified Basketball captain, shares, “The home opening game had incredible energy and Keene was a really talented team, but we, I think, out-hearted them.”
Kate Gadreau, a humanities teacher at BHS, has been coaching for 20 years at all levels, recreational, junior high, high school, and college. This is her first year coaching Unified Basketball! She shares, “I love coaching basketball, and when I heard that there was an opening I applied for it because it allows me to coach in the winter and I have a lot of these kids in class. Any opportunity to be with students outside the classroom is a great opportunity. What I love most about sports is the belief that athletics brings out the best in people. Even in this day and age, with all of the craziness that surrounds sports, there is comfort in knowing that when your athletes enter the arena of competition that they are prepared and willing to give the most of themselves for the team. Unified Basketball is a great competition that is 100% selfless. All of my players are there for the team, and none of them are there for themselves. There is continuous joy with this team, and they have reminded me that the love of a sport and the support of a great team will only bring success.”Kate’s dedication to the sport and the team shines through her athletes on and off the court.
During the BHS spirit week last September, the Unified Basketball team played a game against the teachers, with a huge student turnout! Lucas Nguyen on the unified team made the winning shot, giving the win to the Unified team! The entire team was thrilled to participate, loving the huge student turnout and cheers every time a basket was made.
During their first home game, something really unique happened mid-game. One of the student helpers on the other team, created a friendship on the court with our very own Lucas Nguyen, winning over the crowd’s hearts. Garret Anderson, a senior at BHS, has been playing on the BHS Unified Basketball team since his freshman year. His jersey number is 25 and he is a captain of Unified along with BHS Senior Regan O’Brien. His favorite part of being on the team is "making connections, new friends, getting together with old friends, and being active. I’m so blessed to have such a great team, I’m so lucky.” Garret is a team player, with all the baskets he makes, each one being “a lot of joy.” Garret’s senior project is based on gaining awareness for Unified Basketball, hoping to get more support and spectators to attend their games. Against Keene, Garret scored 26 points! He thinks that it was “a huge success!”
His father, Ted Anderson, shares, “To watch Garret play Unified with his teammates, it’s literally the most satisfying of anything I’ve ever done in terms of watching or playing basketball. The joy that these kids have and the support that the helpers provide them is heartwarming. It doesn't matter what the score is, they love it. For me as a parent, for my wife Lisa and I, it's really something, I guess we never really knew a lot of thought early on with Garret, and it’s just been one of his favorite things, so it’s very special for him. We never miss a game. They only have 6 or 7 games so they’re really precious, so we make every game. What I was most proud about with Garret was, there was a risk of a season being in jeopardy this year in terms of not having a team and he wanted to do something about it, so he went to Mr. Parker, the athletic director of BHS and they got a teacher-student game to rally student volunteers and before we knew it, it all kind of came together. The most important thing about Unified is student support, so it would be great to see more of that in the future.”
Regan O’Brien, BHS senior and Unified Basketball captain, shares, “The home opening game had incredible energy and Keene was a really talented team, but we, I think, out-hearted them.”
Kate Gadreau, a humanities teacher at BHS, has been coaching for 20 years at all levels, recreational, junior high, high school, and college. This is her first year coaching Unified Basketball! She shares, “I love coaching basketball, and when I heard that there was an opening I applied for it because it allows me to coach in the winter and I have a lot of these kids in class. Any opportunity to be with students outside the classroom is a great opportunity. What I love most about sports is the belief that athletics brings out the best in people. Even in this day and age, with all of the craziness that surrounds sports, there is comfort in knowing that when your athletes enter the arena of competition that they are prepared and willing to give the most of themselves for the team. Unified Basketball is a great competition that is 100% selfless. All of my players are there for the team, and none of them are there for themselves. There is continuous joy with this team, and they have reminded me that the love of a sport and the support of a great team will only bring success.”Kate’s dedication to the sport and the team shines through her athletes on and off the court.